By: Anwar Ibrahim *
The current political elites in Indonesia often debate ‘politicization of religion’ when entering the general election period. Religious politicization is often considered negative, then what is the true meaning?
According to Prof. Dr. Abdul Munir Mulkhan, Islam regulates all the joints of life, including politics. But lately, the politicization of religion is feared to be able to dishonor the nation.
“In Islam, going to the toilet is also regulated, especially when it comes to managing society (politics). But the problem is how to manage it now, “he said.
His party explained that the politicization of religion is very necessary to provide prosperity for all people regardless of group. His party gave an example with the thought of KH Ahmad Dahlan’s Founding figure.
“In the Muhammadiyah Congress, KH Ahmad Dahlan said that leading life must be by the Qur’anic method. That is, all human beings must unite to be able to live together in a peaceful world. Although having a different nation, actually one blood is one flesh because of the descendants of the Prophet Adam, “he said.
Not much different from that, KH Hasyim Asy’ari once said that the politicization of religion can cause division if the leader does not put the public interest above the interests of the group.
“Human divisions are a big danger caused by the freezing of the heart, even though they are highly educated, because leaders fail to prioritize the good and welfare of all humans not only for their own groups and groups.
He also added that the religion was at first glowing, then gloomy as a result of its own adherents. Therefore believers must follow the holy mind, open themselves up, increase knowledge and act on the basis of knowledge and a pure heart.
Reflecting on history, the first politicization of religion was during the resolution of the jihad in October 1945 to encourage Muslim youth to jihad to defend the homeland against allies. At that time the politicization of religion was a necessity. But it also did not deny that at present, especially before the election, the verses in the scriptures are often misused only for the sake of power alone.
Daud Gerung as the Jakarta Branch Coordinator (PKC), the Indonesian Islamic Student Movement (PMII) also said that the politicization of religion is an unjustified thing. It always prioritizes unity, unity as a nation child. It also said that the doctrine was the most heavy, especially what they did with the offer of Islam quickly and how to enter heaven quickly. In response to this, of course, one of the things that must be considered is the use of religious symbols for the short-term interests of participants in both the legislative contest and the president.
“The politicization of religion is one of the issues that must get our mutual attention. We hope that not until the legislative candidates and presidential candidates deliberately use religious issues for the sake of short-term power, “said Islamic political observer, Nurruzaman.
He also explained, that during the implementation of the 2018 Simultaneous Regional Election, there were not a few cases of the use of religious symbols aimed at winning candidates for regional heads. The winning team deliberately uses verses in the scriptures to support their candidates and discredit other candidates.
Although religious issues have been carried out in the Jakarta regional elections which were considered successful, they were not necessarily effective if they were carried out in areas that relatively used the issue of religious sentiments proven to have failed. Of course the relationship between religion and politics is a classic debate that never ends, whether until when. Because in fact in Indonesia the dose of religion will strengthen at any time before the contestation to win political positions.
The problem is not in terms of channeling political aspirations, but when religion is used as a campaign vehicle, of course this can threaten the unity of the people who are not factually focused on certain candidates. All candidates / candidate pairs have supporters from among the people. Claims from one pair of candidates in addition to containing elements of lies, will also lead to public distrust of religion as a unifying tool.
Of course we cannot avoid that the Indonesian state was born with a strong religious foundation. But it must also be realized, this republic was also born because of the strong spirit of togetherness of various elements in the archipelago, namely Tribe, Religion, Race and Cultural Diversity. If one of these elements stands out, it will certainly grow jealousy and negative sentiment.
Not a few people who perceive that anyone who rejects the politicization of religion is a manifestation of Islamophobia or as an expression of dislike of Islamic teachings. This perception is clearly not true. Refusing the politicization of religion is actually one of the glorification of the values of religious teachings.
In living, we must make religion a guideline in knitting together, not the other way around. Religion must be the foundation of the attitude of all state officials, rather than picking up scriptures in order to gain votes and discredit other candidates. Therefore, all forms of politicization of religion certainly must be a separate vigilance for all elements of society, it is time for religion to become a means of calm, not to add a spark of hatred to fellow humans just because the choices are different.
* The author is a student at the University of Muhammadiyah Makassar